While Swedish heavy metal band Tyrann currently work on their third full-length, German label Dying Victims Productions have been kind enough to reissue their first two albums. Playing a no-nonsense brand of metal that recalls those halcyon NWOBHM days, Tyrann have won the hearts and minds of metalheads the world over and these loving reissues of Djävulens Musik (originally released 2021) and Besatt (first dropped 2023) should turn them from cult favourites into spotlight hoggers.

While musical trends come and go (and with increasing rapidity), there’s a reason why heavy metal has remained, immoveable and ever present, and the reason lies in bands such as Tyrann. Featuring four members who served time in Enforcer (amongst others), they know a thing or two about writing heavy songs and they pooled their considerable talents for their debut album, Djävulens Musik. Featuring eight tracks in 26-minutes should tell you all you need to know; this is music with all the fat removed and boiled down into its purest form and there’s no better example than first (and title) track. Powered by a pounding rhythm section, neo-classical guitars and soaring vocals, ‘Djävulens Musik’ is the perfect summation of all that makes metal great…and all within three minutes! There’s a dark aesthetic hanging over this album which suggests that this really is the “devil’s music”, it feels a little dangers playing tracks such like ‘Satanisk Majestät’, as if the very act of spinning them will evoke the Goat Of Mendes. There’s also an anthemic quality to these songs that means ‘DMFOOHMP’ (“Don’t Make Fashion Of Our Heavy Metal Passion”) will transfer well to the live environment. Playing a retro brand of metal convincingly is a fine line to walk, yet Tyrann find themselves on the right side thanks to their sheer love of the genre and that means Djävulens Musik drips with authenticity. A debut which put Tyrann on the metal map, and ensured they stayed there.

Released two years after Djävulens Musik and following a similar format (eight songs in under thirty minutes), so much so that it would be easy for people to accuse Tyrann of being formulaic. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth; make no mistake, Besatt is still a balls-to-the-wall heavy metal album, only it finds the band spreading their wings somewhat. First thing to note is the quality of the recording, it’s a major step up in class and while some might miss the gritty nature of its predecessor, Besatt now sounds fuller and punchier. Songs such as opener ‘Transsylvanien’ and the majestic title-track insert plenty of white space and that makes the band sound bigger and by dint, more powerful and menacing. Tyrann haven’t tinkered with their format too much (although it is certainly not metal-by-numbers), Besatt operates at roughly the same gallop as Djävulens Musik and there are slight detours into doom, NWOBHM and speed territory, Besatt has more light, and while that might be an anathema to those who embrace the darkness, it acts as a foil to the shade and subsequently makes Tyrann a far heavier beast. Evidence of that lighter side comes in the shape of the penultimate ‘Ingen Tid För Oss’ which conspires to make Besatt a more rounded listening experience and one that shines a little light into the inky black.

Having released the excellent The Slaughter House Tapes EP earlier this year and with a new album in the pipeline, Tyrann are very much a going concern, but if you want to explore their genesis, look no further than these excellent reissues.

• Djävulens Music / Besatt are released via Dying Victims Productions on 21st November 2025.

Track List:

Djävulens Musik:

1. Djävulens Musik
2. Don’t Make Fashion Of Our Heavy Metal Passion
3. Brin Med Mig
4. Den Andra Siden
5. Satanisk Majestät
6. Sodom
7. Undergång
8. Tyrann

Besatt:

1. Transsylvanien
2. Face The Tyrant
3. Varje Sekund Och Andetag
4. Besatt
5. Omen
6. Knytnäve Från Underjorden
7. Ingen Tid För Oss
8. Rå Energi